UPCOMING WORK DAYS

- Saturday August 5, Trail work Day - 9am-12 noon

The Department of Parks and Recreation has undertaken a master planning process for the RMNA Comments may be submitted to raggedmountain@charlottesville.org or by calling 434-970-3610 and leaving a message.

Certain new trails within the property are proposed as hiker only, and other new trails as shared use. Orange flags have been placed upon the proposed new trail alignments for hiking only. White flags have been placed on the alignments for new shared use trails. These alignments are ‘in draft form’ and can be adjusted based upon comments received.

Meeting #6 - July 20, 2016 - Parks and Recreation Advisory Board - PUBLIC HEARING - The Board heard public input on the options up for consideration. There is a 30 day comment period following the public hearing and the P&R Board will take action at a future meeting.

The new trails at Ragged Mountain Natural Area are now open to the public.

The City of Charlottesville now has full management of RMNA. Inquiries regarding the uses and accessibility of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area should addressed to Chris Gensic of Charlottesville Parks & Recreation. He can be e-mailed at gensic@charlottesville.org. Click here for a MAP of the trails Trails are still being constructed, contact Chris to sign up for volunteer work days.

The Ragged Mountain Natural Area near Charlottesville, Virginia, is a beautiful 980-acre forest of mature oak, hickory, poplar, pine, and maple trees with a lake that serves as part of the community water supply, and more than four miles of shoreline. Seven miles of trail lead through majestic forest, along rugged terrain, and through areas rich with wildlife and offer a unique opportunity for wilderness hiking within minutes of town.

Dogs, bicycles, and jogging are not allowed at Ragged Mountain natural area.

Fishing is allowed at Ragged Mountain, and requires a valid state fishing permit. Non-gasoline powered boats are allowed on the reservoir. There is not currently a public boat ramp, so smaller boats are encouraged.

NEWS - the lake is nearly full, and many new trails have been built to replace those that were lost with the higher lake level. When the lake has filled to capacity, a floating trail bridge will be installed to complete the trail loop. The upper maintenance road around the north and west sides of the property is partially privately owned and is not currently open for public use.

A PUBLIC MASTER PLANNING PROCESS WILL BE UNDERTAKEN IN 2016 for the area. Dates for public meetings are being set now and will be announce soon. Part of the discussion will include proposals to allow dogs on leash, bicycles, and jogging on the trails in the natural area. There are studies underway to determine any special flora and fauna areas to avoid and/or to showcase before new trail alignments for any public use are finalized and constructed. If you would like to assist in the trail construction efforts or the bio-blitzes and eco-studies, please contact Chris Gensic, Park and Trail Planner, at 970-3656 or gensic@charlottesville.org.

The area is rich in birdlife with native woodpeckers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, and northern flickers in the winter. In the spring, keep an eye out for songbirds migrating through such as blue-winged and Tennessee warblers. Fall brings the migrant blackpoll and bay-breasted warblers as well as hermit thrush. Nesting neotropical songbirds include pine, yellow-throated, and yellow warblers, northern parula, yellow-breasted chat, chipping and field sparrows, and red-eyed and yellow-throated vireos are best seen in early spring before the foliage gets too heavy.

Other wildlife includes the upland chorus and northern cricket frogs are in residence here, as is the American toad and spring peeper. Several species of bats are known to hunt insects here including eastern pipistrelle, evening bat, and bag brown bat. Many, many species of mammals live here. Among the large mammals, the white-tailed deer is particularly abundant. Occasional visits by black bear and sightings of bobcat are also not uncommon.

Visiting the Natural Area

The Ragged Mountain Natural Area parking area is located at 1730 Reservoir Rd., off Fontaine Avenue, south of Charlottesville, VA. (Google map). Open 7:00 a.m. to sunset.

Take Fontaine Avenue south form the city, Travel south of the 250 bypass about 1/8 mile and turn right onto Reservoir Road. Travel about 1.5 miles to the lower parking lot, on the right across from Camp holiday Trails (1730 Reservoir Road). To reach the new upper parking area, continue past the lower lot, stay right and pass the yellow gate, and travel up the paved road to the top of the dam and park by the kiosk and tool shed. (1760 Reservoir Road)

Creation of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area

The property was acquired by the City in the late 1800's to provide a supply for water to serve the growing community and university. A dam was built at that time, and a second dam was built in the 1920's to expand the lake capacity. A new dam was completed in 2014 to further expand the capacity of the lake.

In April 1997, with the goal of providing long-term protection to the watershed of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, the Ivy Creek Foundation (ICF) approached the City of Charlottesville with a proposal to designate the Reservoir property as a public natural area reserved for quiet hiking, fishing, and wildlife observation. Under this proposal ICF agreed to fund, design and construct a rustic parking lot, conduct a biological survey, establish and maintain a trail system, and provide maps. The Ivy Creek Foundation decided in 2014 to let the City take over management of the natural area.

Ecology of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area

The area is rich in birdlife with native woodpeckers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, and northern flickers in the winter. In the spring, keep an eye out for songbirds migrating through such as blue-winged and Tennessee warblers. Fall brings the migrant blackpoll and bay-breasted warblers as well as hermit thrush. Nesting neotropical songbirds include pine, yellow-throated, and yellow warblers, northern parula, yellow-breasted chat, chipping and field sparrows, and red-eyed and yellow-throated vireos are best seen in early spring before the foliage gets too heavy.

Other wildlife includes the upland chorus and northern cricket frogs are in residence here, as is the American toad and spring peeper. Several species of bats are known to hunt insects here including eastern pipistrelle, evening bat, and bag brown bat. Many, many species of mammals live here. Among the large mammals, the white-tailed deer is particularly abundant. Occasional visits by black bear and sightings of bobcat are also not uncommon.